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Cool change
After six days of temperatures above 40C (that’s 104F), we have had a cool change to the lower 30s. We get to enjoy that until the weekend when we start into another heatwave. I think we may have set a record for most continuous days of 40+ temperatures here.
This reminds me that the Scientist and I went to see a friend play music at a cafe about 1.5 hours drive from here. She plays at this cafe about once a month so we take a trip down and enjoy the atmosphere which is lovely. There’s an indoor and outdoor area at this cafe and the artists usually play outside. But it was so terribly hot our friend was looking rather drained after playing for three hours (with breaks). We moved right inside to the air conditioning when she was done. On a good day, we might have stopped at one of the parks on the way home but it was just too hot for any outdoor activity.
On Sunday we went to Fremantle with Lego Lover to visit the Maritime Museum for a Lego shipwreck display. It was pretty cool to see and there were Lego models of some famous shipwrecks and some that are mostly known locally. Afterward, we went to a favorite cafe to have lunch. Unfortunately, the food wasn’t so good this time. I had ordered chips (thick-cut fries) with my sandwich and the chips were really terrible, enough that I left most behind. Also, the menu had changed so that some foods we like are no longer available. It seems we may have to find a new place to eat. We did have ideas of visiting the Fremantle Markets but were wary of crowded places with covid around.
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I think I've worked this photo thing out
Here is a photo of the sort of Lego chocolate colored brick cake that was made for Lego Lover’s birthday. It didn’t come out quite right due to the marshmallows not being properly covered with frosting. Next time it should be better.
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Regression
I had an unexpected visit from my closest friend and her fifteen year old son this morning. Game Fanatic was pleased to play his games with another competent player. Lego Lover must have woken up shortly after they arrived and he was in a foul mood. He’s known both since he was born but we’ve not met for quite some time. Lego Lover might have just stayed in his room and kept to himself. Instead, he decided to attach himself to me and regressed to some of the less appropriate behavior he had when he was younger. Typically, he locked himself away after the visitors had gone. With this friend, I don’t have to feel any embarrassment but it was a nuisance to have our visit sabotaged by this behavior.
This is mostly a regressive blip, though, when looking at the overall picture of Lego Lover. It’s been a great joy to watch him as he matures and takes such pleasure out of life for the past year.
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Balmy day of winter?
While not exactly balmy, it was pleasantly warm today once the morning hours had passed. Before it was nearly freezing and now, late at night, it’s nearly freezing. Lego Lover and I went off to a park about half an hour away to meet with other homeschoolers this afternoon. There were only three of us mums there, along with three boys aged five, six and 10. Lego Lover wasn’t very sociable so he stayed to himself most of the time. The other two are good mates and played together much of the time although there were a few conflicts along the way. We were only there for about an hour but that was enough for Lego Lover, who moved to the car when the younger boys got a bit close for comfort.
We adults had a reasonably decent opportunity to socialise while the kids were otherwise occupied and the topic of conversation mostly centered on parenting issues on this occasion. I felt like something of veteran compared to the other two because I’ve been through many of the battles they are dealing with these days. It’s not so much that those battles are behind me but the fact that my approach and attitude to how I parent has evolved somewhat over the years, due to experience. One of the themes that came up was trying to nip problems in the bud. That’s a really great ideal to have. But it’s also unrealistic to think we can stop less desirable behavior right at the start all the time too. As I put it, sometimes we just have to go with the flow, and ride the roller coaster that is parenting. We just can’t fix all the issues that come up through our years of parenting. I think this must be a bit of wisdom I’ve gathered from my nearly fifteen years of parenting because I don’t think it would have been so obvious to me even a few years ago. I now feel old and wise! :)
Our gathering only lasted a little over an hour and then Lego Lover and I were on our way home. We had a mostly enjoyable ride, aside from the overly generous solar heat that required windows to be put down at times. We’ve been listening to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (BBC radio production from many years ago) and managed to hear two or three episodes during the round trip, which were all really funny. We arrived home before traffic became completely unbearable and all was good.